Isn't he, though?

Unfortunately, I think he's entering his awkward phase.

His bill is getting bigger and bigger in relation to the size of his head, and he's looking all stretched out and lanky. Hopefully a few weeks of awkwardness will end with him turning into a handsome young duck!
It must be the angle of the picture, he almost looks smaller in today's picture with the Easter chick than he did yesterday. He definitely is not smaller!
Crashie knows how to treat someone formally. You gotta look 'em in the eye!
He was preening here. You can faintly see his preen gland in this shot! And along the same topic, I may have to raise the EcoGlow soon--his back is at the same height as it now!
He may be getting gawky, but he still is cute.
Anti-nibbling training may be going too well. He's not nibbling at my fingers at all now! All I was doing was tapping his beak and telling him "No!" when it felt like he was pinching a bit. Smart little guy! But, of course, I've always known he was clever--after all, he knows very well how to wield his cuteness to overpower people!
In other news, we had a few days without broodies, but they're planning an uprising, I just know it. Margaret, who is probably the most broody little fluffball in the flock, has been laying her eggs in the dust bath in the lower area of the coop, and today, she was just sitting down in it. I moved her and she went on, but... I have my suspicions... I already had to break Kit-kit of brooding, and now it looks like Elda is going for try 3 at it.

And my Swedish Flower Hen, Tilde, has been spending an awful lot of time in the nest... But, then, she has done this before and it turned out she was not broody, just wanting to sleep in the nest boxes at night... We'll see.
I also gave Reuben a trial run the other night in the flock. I opened up his pen so that he could go to the coop on his own, and he got lost.

He's about 20 feet away from it, but I suppose his crest is probably blocking his view. So I picked him up and put him just inside the chicken yard gate, and the first thing he did was trip on a branch and face plant into the mud.

Maybe he needs a crest trimming like Tilde did.
Today is harp day, so I decided against putting him in the flock again today because I'd be gone for a bit. Instead, I'll let him out with the girls this afternoon when I get back home and see what happens. The girls weren't terribly impressed with him before and one of the Partridge Plymouth Rocks, Fancy, actually tackled him and bowled him over! And, on top of that, he ran from her!

What a man! But, I do believe he's a youngster still, so he's still growing into his manliness.
Anyway, it's about time for Crashie's bath, so I better get to it before he gets all emotional about it.
EDIT: Oh, I almost forgot! Happy Hatchday to Frou-Frou!!

e Can't believe it's been 3 years since I opened the box and found this sassy little Marans!